He chuckled at my straightforwardness. "Exactly," he replied. His hand went through my hair, lifting up a strand of purple and pink.
"I know you hate vampires because of Vincent. But remember, not all of them want to be one," Theo whispered.
I blinked, remembering what Finn had said around the campfire.
"No. Vampires can't shift into bats. The reason for those stories is because vampires would hunt bat shifters and force them to do their bidding."
"You're a vampire? I mean...like were you..." I trailed off.
He sighed, looking away. My eyes noticed the mark on his neck.
"Vincent found out I was a bat shifter during a family get together. My family and I lived on the outskirts of Versa and didn't like mingling often. However, my dad had a business deal with Vincent's father, which is why we were there. He told us to go and play. Vincent lives on a large property so they took me out into the forest and bit me. They muffled my screams so no one would hear me and come to help me, and then they ditched me. I guess they didn't think it would work and I wasn't found until it was too late," he concluded.
I stared at him, speechless. He lowered his head, then looked up to meet my stunned gaze. I could see the pain in his eyes.
"The mark is still there because Vincent didn't bite me correctly or something along those lines. I ended up having to leave my family and stay in the coven with the vampires," he admitted.
"How old were you?" I asked.
"Hmm...about nine? We were the same age when the worst thing in our lives happened. I'm twenty-five now," he admitted.
"Same age as me," I whispered.
"When's your birthday?" he asked.
"Oh...um...I guess it was yesterday," I pondered, realizing I'd completely missed my birthday because of the exam.
"We didn't get to celebrate it." Theo frowned.
"It's not a big deal. I don't ever do anything for it," I reassured him. I placed my hand back on his, staring straight into his eyes. "I still don't like vampires. But...I won't judge you. I shouldn't judge their race based on only the ones I’ve met. It's just difficult because I've never met a nice vampire. Well...until I met you. But you’re special," I quickly pointed out.
He chuckled. "I like being special. Means I can be a part of Team Misfit," He winked.
He stood from the bench, extending his hand to me. I placed mine in his, allowing him to help me up.
"We should go back," he encouraged.
I bit my lip, glancing at the door that led to the stairwell. "But...I'll just freeze up again," I reminded.
Theo took a step forward and lifted his free hand to give me a comforting pat on my head. My eyes widened at the kind gesture, meeting his soft expression.
"Finn has an ability to tell what actions calm a shifter. Whether it's singing or giving them a hug. When he sees someone in distress, he can immediately tell what will help relax them. He told us when someone gently pats your head, you calm down. He was going to mention it to you after the exam, but hasn't got a chance yet," Theo explained.
"That's a pretty cool ability," I praised.
Theo nodded. "I think it's one of the reasons why we ended up knowing each other. But I'll leave that story for another day." He slipped his hand into mine. "You know what Vincent hates the most?" Theo asked.
"What?" I wondered, curious to know what Vincent despised.
"When we walk around confidently. When he bit me and I was forced to live in the coven for a few years, I hid in my room. And that made him so happy. He'd laugh in front of my door with his friends and when I did leave my room, he loved how broken I looked. But when I turned eighteen, I’d had enough. I missed my family and I was tired of hiding. No one knew about it, but I trained every day in my room. I learned to fight and defend myself. So on that day, I walked proudly through the coven and requested to see my family. I was of age and didn't need to be monitored. Vincent tried as usual to hurt me with his mocking, but when his words and laughter did nothing to me and he realized he couldn't hurt me anymore, he got frustrated," Theo explained.
"Why was he asking for you to be on his team? Because you're stronger now?" I wondered.
Theo chuckled, nodding in approval. "Yup. He hadn't realized how strong I'd become until another family get together last year. When I was given permission to return home, my father immediately put me in training to improve my skills. He felt horrible that I’d spent years in that treacherous coven and felt that if he'd trained me earlier, I would never have been changed into a vamp to begin with. When we went to the family get together, Vincent and his group tried to pick on me again."
"What did you do?"
"One of his friends tried to pin me down. I broke his arm and beat the living shit out of him. I washed my hands and walked out. Since then, he's been trying to get me on his side." Theo grinned proudly.